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No light shed on running back race, but Cameron Artis-Payne, Corey Grant shine on A-Day

Auburn A-Day 2014

Auburn defensive lineman Montravius Adams (1) gets a hand on Auburn running back Cameron Artis-Payne (44) during the first half of the A-Day game Saturday, April 19, 2014, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

AUBURN, Alabama -- The race to replace a Heisman Trophy finalist took a secondary role on A-Day, a change-of-pace in a scrimmage plan that focused on the passing game.

Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant still got plenty of work.

And when the Tigers' top two returning backs got their chances, Artis-Payne and Grant were deadly working behind the first-team offensive line.

"We knew that when Coach called a running play, we were going to step up and get the job done," Grant said.

Artis-Payne racked up 97 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, and Grant added 128 yards and a touchdown on just five carries as he used his speed to burst through the line and get into the secondary.

For the most part, the Tigers' two older backs stuck to the roles they played last season, even as Auburn ran base principles: Artis-Payne got a heavier workload and operated inside, and Grant was devastating on the perimeter.

Redshirt freshman Peyton Barber, expected to get his own fair share of work, was forced to leave after injuring a leg on his first carry.

Other than Barber's injury, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn wasn't surprised at all by the way his running backs responded in their first chance in front of a Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd without Tre Mason.

"Cameron Artis-Payne has had a very good spring as well Corey Grant," Malzahn said. "Peyton Barber got a little dinged up earlier after a really good run. But all three of those guys have had very solid springs."

Mason finished fifth in the country with 1,816 yards, in part because he also finished fifth in the country with 317 carries in an offense that ran the ball on 72 percent of its plays.

Auburn's A-Day game plan was no coincidence. In Nick Marshall's second season in the offense, the Tigers plan to be more balanced, and that means fewer chances for the backs in the running game.

But Artis-Payne and Grant aren't worried. After watching Mason run against teams that stacked the box with eight and nine defenders last season, anything that lightens up some of the congestion means more running room.

No pecking order has been established this spring among the three backs -- although Grant will still have a clearly defined role as a speed option -- a development that's part of Malzahn's design.

Auburn defensive back Brandon King (29) and Auburn defensive back Mack VanGorder (12) wrap up Auburn running back Corey Grant (20) during the first half of the A-Day game Saturday, April 19, 2014, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Beyond the three that saw action on A-Day, Auburn will have the services of signees Racean Thomas and Kamryn Pettway to compete for carries.

A-Day wasn't meant to establish a starter. That will likely come in September, when the full game action brings out the best in a player and allows somebody to emerge.

But Artis-Payne and Grant still feel good about an A-Day workload that offered a glimpse of how the running game can work with an improved passing attack.

"I feel good about the running game next season," Artis-Payne said. "I'm pretty sure we can account for what we owe."